Top 5 Anticipated Anime of 2025

5. Zeshu

It’s an isekai, but not a standard isekai and that has me very much interested in it. Mainly because the main character, they are an artist. And they realize that they, in this other world, have the ability to rewrite it. It’s really the premise that catches my attention on this one. That idea is just unique and I think it could be a lot of fun in terms of a story. And I want to know how it plays. Is it serious or not? Or is it just going to be a fun time, because as a fun time, I think it could really shine.

4. Witch Watch

An ogre is tasked with being a bodyguard or watching over his childhood friend who is a witch as she completes her training. That storyline sounds interesting to me. And my big concern would be that this is just another action anime. Is it going to be another anime with episodes that are just a big epic fight. Nope, this is supposed to be a more light hearted and fun anime that is going to offer some humor to it and heart. I like the sound of that a lot and often times that is the type of anime that is going to draw me in the most.

3. Lazarus

I want to know more about this one because of the director around it. Shinichiro Watanabe is the director behind Cowboy Bebop an anime that I really like. This is one that sounds very interesting as well. A drug is shortening the lives of people, even though it is supposed to be a miracle drug. So now a group needs to try and saver everyone from the side effects of the drug. The question is, how do you do that?

I like the sounds of this story a lot. I expect that there is going to be some action in the show. Cowboy Bebop is not a show without action. But I also expect that there is going to be a lot of good story and intrigue to the show. And I would not be surprised if it is dips into the idea that the unplanned side effect, shortening lives, wasn’t as unplanned as it may have seemed. But that is a mystery to unravel with this show.

2. Honey Lemon Soda

Normally there is more than one anime on the list that I’ve read the manga for. But this time, that is not the case. At least this far on the list I haven’t made it to another one yet. Honey Lemon Soda is not actually a manga that totally drew me into it. But it’s a romance story, and I find that I like a lot of those adaptations into anime as much or more than I like the manga.

Uka Ishimori is a very shy person and wants to shake that. She meets a boy with lemon colored hair, and he helps her gain confidence. This is not a very unique story, but it is a trope and idea that works well. How can someone who wants to be more take that step to being more to stepping out of their shell. I think that idea resonates with a lot of people, even if the circumstances aren’t the same as it is for them.

1. I Got Married to the Girl I Hate Most In Class

One thing was missing from the list. I didn’t have an anime with a long name, and while this isn’t the longest, by any means, of something I’ve watched, it is fairly long. I think that the same in some ways says it all. This is going to be a comedy anime with two characters who get stuck in a marriage or relationship that they don’t want. Or at least, something that they expect isn’t going to work because of their previous history.

It reminds me of other mis-matched character anime. I think of A Couple of Cuckoos as one in this genre as well. And I like this type of show because it is just going to be fun. And it means that I can sit down, relax, and kind of turn my mind off for a few moments to watch and enjoy it. But it isn’t to the point where it’s just action fluff, it’s going to make me laugh and give me a few heartfelt moments as well along the way.

Final Thoughts

Now, to be fair, this will not have some of my most anticipated on the list. Why, because they are season two or threes. So I want to call them out here. I could have almost made a separate list, but let’s just shout them out.

• Solo Leveling season two starts in a couple of days, and I’m very excited.
• Dandadan was announced for a season two this summer.
• And My Dress-up Darling announced for a season two this year as well.
• Spy x Family is always a blast to watch and it’s coming back for a season three, so I want to have more wholesome spy fun.
• Another odd one is Fire Force coming back for season three which should be more over the top action and a barely coherent plot.
• And speaking of crazy plots we have The 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really Really Love You back for season two.
• Plus Oshi No Ko is letting us dive into that mystery more which I’m hear for.
• Finally, Kaiju No. 8 is also set for a second season this year.

Is that a complete list of everything that is returning. I expect that answer is no. And for some people it won’t even include some of the ones that are returning that they are most excited for. Let me know what returning and new anime you are most excited for?

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Top 50 Anime – 20 through 11

20. Steins;Gate

Like I said, this is one that was on the top of the list for me for a long time. I still love it and have fond memories of staying up late and binging it because it’s that good. It’s one of the best time travel shows I’ve ever seen and one of the best time travel things period. It’s up there with something like Primer in terms of time travel.

But to do it that well, you need part of it to be that time travel goes wrong. And it does in this show, and because it does, there are some heavier moments with it. One that I probably should watch again, it’s not that long, but it’s that good.

19. Kaguya-Sama: Love is War

Now for one of them that I watched the most recently, this one is amazing. It’s a super fast paced comedy that I love. I saw the first episode or maybe two, in Japanese a bit ago. And I thought it was great, but it’s a lot of reading. Well, turns out that he dubbed version is amazing as well. Ian Sinclair is able to overact in it as the narrator and it really sets the tone for this fast, smart, and absurd romance. The two characters who should fall in love and do love the other can’t admit it because it would be losing. So it becomes a battle to get the other to admit their feelings.

The reason it didn’t work for me in Japanese is that there is so much reading, like I said. This reminds me of witty slapstick comedies where it is a mile a minute dialog. Bringing up Baby is a great example of that. This is way more sarcastic and still as over the top. One that I really think will appeal to a lot of people, even if you don’t like romance anime.

18. Ghost Hunt

I like to find horror anime to watch, from time to time. You’ll notice not a ton on my list, though. Mainly because a lot of them are just okay. Ghost Hunt, however, really was a ton of fun. And I like how it worked as well. It didn’t do the thing where it was one massive horror/ghost hunt that happens. But it’s also not monster of the week. Each case that the team investigates takes a few episodes. That time to breath lets them build up the horror and build up the lore. Each case wraps up quickly enough though so it doesn’t drag.

17. Mashle

I expect Mashle to move higher over time. It’s an anime that doesn’t set itself apart as something that is completely unique. In fact, a lot of what Mashle does, the main character who is the chosen one to bring balance to a corrupt world that looks down on those who can’t cast magic, it’s pretty normal. It’s set in a school, also normal. But it then makes fun of those tropes.

The main character, Mash Deadburn is a moron, how he will bring balance who knows. He also is insanely strong, that’s how he makes up for not being able to do magic. But it’s not that he overpowers everyone, he has to use it to pretend to be doing magic because otherwise he’d be cast out from society. This is a good action and comedy anime storyline.

16. Bofuri

We’ll see were this one lands, I need to watch the second season of Bofuri. But the premise is a fun one. A girl takes up playing an RPG. But she’s afraid of dying and getting hurt in the RPG. It’s her first time playing one. So she maxes out her defense, that’s part of the long title. And as she does that, this sweet RPG player comes up against more powerful, more cutthroat players, but can she overcome them just with her defense? And will she lose her sweetness? That’s the biggest part of this pretty wholesome feeling anime.

15. Assassination Classroom

Assassination Classroom is another one that was higher on my list, and it’s dropped some. This is an absurd anime again. The main character is an “alien” who needs to be killed before they destroy the world. Well, they take up teaching a remedial class of students who need to learn but also are tasked with coming up with a creative way to take him out. Because he knows he needs to die, but he’s not going to make it easy.

The whole thing is really built around the emotional stories and growth of the students. But it’s done with one of the weirdest backdrops ever. Assassinate your alien teacher is not where you’d expect to get character development and growth stories from.

14. A Returners Magic Should Be Special

I’ve found a trope that I really like which A Returners Magic Should Be Special is one of. What do you do when you know how everything ends. You know that in the end, everything is for not because you fail. But now you’ve been sent back to where you started at, how do you do it differently. That’s the question that is being asked in this action and adventure anime. Where there are portals opening up and a dragon at the end of them destructs and destroys the world. The main character’s mind is thrown back into his body when he started out training. So what is he going to do different.

I like the story, I like the overpowered nature. And I really appreciate that it is a fun character as well. This could be dark, and there are some elements or some ways where it feel like it is. But overall the story is handled pretty lightly, there are fun moments, and I want more of it.

13. Horimiya

This is one that we, both my wife and I, read first before watching. I think that helps build it up some as an anime and as a romance. The books are great, and the anime, while it bounces around and basically wraps up the whole story in a season, and then goes back, it’s weird. But the heart of the story is great. Two highschoolers fall for each other, but both of them kind of live a different life in and outside of school. It’s just a good heartfelt and funny romance anime.

12. Spy X Family

The biggest hit in the past few years. I mean, you can say Attack on Titan, but that had it’s start before the past few years. Spy X Family is about a spy who needs to set-up a family to get close to a political leader. Turns out, you can lie about that, and he creates a fake family. It has some spy stuff, it has some assassin stuff. But it’s really about that family element. How does the spy, and their fake spouse an assassin, keep their hidden lives hidden from each other? Plus, how do they actually act like a family?

11. Komi Can’t Communicate

This anime is just adorable. Komi Can’t Communicate is about Komi, a girl who has severe social anxiety and can’t communicate with anyone. She comes off as cold and aloof because of that. But when one of her classmates actually spends the time to reach out to her in a way that she can handle, they start to form a bond. And she doesn’t want to be cold and aloof, but wants to make 100 friends. So how can he help her do that when she can’t talk. The anime is adorable, and it’s a good romance, and there are a lot of funny moments. It’s one that is just easy watching in the best way possible.

Final Thoughts

There it is, the penultimate last. Next week, and I will remember to write it for next week, the Top 10 Anime for me. Don’t expect a ton of heavy hitters on the list, though a number of them are quite popular. I have my type of anime that I like, though I will watch most.

Based off of what I’ve written about thus far, which anime do you think will make the top of the list? And which anime do you think I should continue to checkout that maybe I haven’t. Let me know down in the comment section below.

Top 5 Anime of 2023

It’s worth noting before I get into some honorable mentions that these are anime I watched in 2023. It doesn’t mean that the anime had to air in 2023. It might be something I stumbled across for the first time.

Honorable Mention

A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special – This is one that I just started watching and it’s actively coming out or at least actively getting dubbed. It’s about a character who when the world ends gets sent back in time with his knowledge to try and save the world. It’s a fun trope that I enjoy in manga and anime recently.

Jujutsu Kaisen – Jujutsu Kaisen is probably one of the more talked about animes where sorcerers are fighting demons. The main character, well, he’s a bit of a special one with the cursed energy that he has and how much he cares. This is mainly an anime with an okay story and some cool fights.

My Love Story with Yamada-Kun and Lv999 – You’ll find a few romance anime on this list, and I like this one a lot. It’s a cute story of a girl who joins an RPG only to get dumped by her boyfriend who got her into the game. Swearing off gamer boys, she finds that she accidentally might be falling for one again.

I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too – Ah, the classic long title. This is the story of the zero to hero over night. As the main character is a nobody in the real world, and then when inheriting a portal to another world from his grandfather, he levels up there and well, levels up in the real world too.

5. Mashle

To start the list we have Mashle. This is one that I already talked about on the manga list. In fact, you’ll find a few that overlap. A lot of that is that I’d stumble across something and then hear that it’s coming out as an anime later. Mashle though, I think maybe makes a better anime than a manga. And I really enjoy the manga.

The story is pretty simple, it’s a non-magic user in a magic users world. In fact the world leans so heavily on magic that it shuns and throws out of society anyone that can’t use magic. So how is Mashle able to survive in a school for magic users? Well, that’s where the action and comedy come in as this story parodies other anime and manga out there.

This is one for people who want a pretty simple plot but a lot of dumb fun action and a dumb fun character, Mash Burnedead. In fact, all of the characters could qualify as dumb and fun. It’s just a good time.

4. Rent-A-Girlfriend

Now onto another one of the romance anime that I watched this past year. Rent-A-Girlfriend is an anime and story that I’d heard about but never really drew me in as a concept. A guy is down on his luck having been dumped by his girlfriend, so as a way to gain confidence he goes on a Rent-A-Girlfriend app and has a date with a rental girlfriend.

And I think that Rent-A-Girlfriend gets much better as the seasons go on. The first season is a bit rough. You don’t feel that sad for the guy and the relationship between the rental girlfriend and him is odd. But eventually, through some decent writing and plot, the story really develops into something meaningful. The main character never fully wins you over, at least he didn’t for me, but the rest of the characters and heart of the story work well.

3. Shangri-La Frontier

Another one from the manga list, Shangri-La Frontier is just one that I really enjoy. The main character loves his trash games. Video games that are so bad that they are almost unplayable. His goal is to beat them all and he has beat most of them. When he goes in to commiserate with a video game store owner about the last bad game, she recommends a break to a great game, and a new game Shangri-La Frontier.

I like this show as just a fun romp of a game. The most interesting part is probably the world and the complexity of the world being created. The main character is very good at the game, he should be since he’s really good at bad games. But that doesn’t take away from the wild but deep world and make it less enjoyable. Instead, you get to appreciate him appreciating something that is actually good. And sometimes dipping into appreciating something that is bad as he plays other games.

2. Spy x Family

Now we have one of the bigger anime for 2022, I believe. I just didn’t get around to watching it until 2023. In fact both my #2 and #1 are 2022 titles that I watched this year. Spy x Family is the story of a spy who has to pretend like he has a family in order to infiltrate a school and get close to one of the enemy countries leaders.

That’s the plot, but it’s really about how a spy, an assassin (they don’t know each others jobs) and a psychic daughter that he adopts all can live together and they grow together. Is it just a job or are they starting to have feelings for each other? Well, the daughter definitely loves them both, but what’s going on. It’s a story with a lot of cute little stories in it and sometimes some action and adventure as plots are uncovered and stopped. But all of that has a family backdrop to it.

1. My Dress-Up Darling

And my favorite anime of last year is My Dress-Up Darling. This one I really didn’t think I was going to like. I think my wife and I started watching it in 2022 and the 2nd episode is just tough to watch. It’s all of those cringy awkward things that I feel like you get in some comedies. It reminds me of Meet the Parents or 40-Year-Old Virgin awkward and kind of dumb writing.

But the show quickly moves on past that into a show still with some of that awkwardness, but not to the point where it’s the point of an episode. And it becomes more charming as you meet the characters more in depth and they grow. My Dress-Up Darling is really a great romance and story of characters growing together and bonding over cosplay. It’s also a dive into the world of cosplay and the people who go head over heals for it.

I know that it is a raunchy anime. There is a lot of fan service. And while I find that it doesn’t push itself too far, it definitely pushes itself a ways. That is going to be enough for some to skip it. But while it has all of that, it is, without doubt, the anime with the most heart that I’ve seen in a long while. It is just adorable and heart warming with how the characters interact.

Final Thoughts

This was a fun year of watching anime for me. There are some that I want to get back to and finish because I liked them, but it wasn’t the right time to watch.

Shy, a superhero anime, definitely interested me in what it was doing. As it felt like a different take, kind of, on superheroes, but it also hits some tropes.

Beast Tamer also almost made the list. A story of a character who seems underpowered or like his skills aren’t that great. But when the adventuring party doesn’t have him, well, maybe he’s worth more than they thought.

Didn’t I say to make my abilities average in the next life is another one that I kind of want to dabble in a bit more. An isekai, the main character wants to just be average and live a normal life in their next life. While, when they get dropped into the world, they are given the average of an ant (or something like that) and the most powerful ancient dragon. So they are on the high end of magic users and people in the world.

Plus a lot of fun ones are coming out in 2024. I’ll be doing a list looking forward soon. Which anime did you watch in 2023 that you really liked?

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Manga Round-up

I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level

This one I was disappointed in. I generally like Isekai and this one has a slice of life feel to it as well. But honestly, it’s just kind of boring. The slice of life aspect isn’t that interesting. The protagonist is not that interesting. And the premise while fun, makes for a fairly standard story. It could have been like Bofuri, but instead it’s just kind of a dull affair.

Shangri-La Frontier

I’ve only read one book for this and I want to read more. Shangri-La Frontier is about a character who is overpowered for the game that they are playing. But it is just a game, and they are taking all of their knowledge of how to play and beat lousy games and transferring it to a really good game. I like that play on the VRMMORPG genre in Manga.

I think it works because it gives the main character a different lens on the game being played. It isn’t a death game, Sword Art Online, and it isn’t just a standard fantasy game. While, it is, but the main characters perspective on it is different. He wants to be lousy games, this is just someone talking him into trying a good game. And he isn’t afraid of dying, if he dies, he respawns and tries again.

Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers

This one I am actually all caught up on. And it’s solid, it doesn’t do anything too groundbreaking, but it tells a fun story. A person from another world, another fantasy world, gets summoned into a new fantasy world to be that worlds heroes. But at Level 1 his stats suck. So he’s cast aside, but turns out he was the hero, and now the dark one and the kingdom who cast him out are trying to vie for his attention. Of course, all he wants to do is be left alone.

The depth in this one is lacking, it is mainly standard fluff. But the slight tweak of him not working for either side can be interesting. And the characters around him are pretty interesting, especially fro the two sides trying to sway him to their side.

Delicious Dungeon

What would happen if you needed to rush into a dungeon (or chose to) to save a loved one and you didn’t bring any food. You’d need to use what you can from the dungeon to make meals. Delicious Dungeon is a goofy premise but another one that I like, pretty well.

I say pretty well, it took me a bit to get through the first manga. Mainly, each chapter is very separate. So you read one, you can put it down and pick it up again whenever. That isn’t a bad thing, it just means it takes longer. And I wonder if I will read more, because the story doesn’t progress that quickly. It is, after all, a manga about cooking.

Kaiju No. 8

The most recent one I read, and I enjoyed it last night. It makes me want to pick-up more. A washed out wannabe Kaiju fighter doesn’t have the best life. He is cleaning up after the messes when a Kaiju is killed. But something happens that makes it possible for him to go after that dream of being a Kaiju fighter again. Of course, this opportunity is not what you’d expect.

Kaiju No. 8 is lighter for sure and more humorous than some of the other manga. But I like where it is going the balancing act it puts on the character. And the jokes it can manage to pull off. It is just a fun experience to read without being too heavy or too brooding. And it feels different. I read a lot of fantasy, but this a good change of pace.

Ghost Reaper Girl

Utterly disappointing for me. Ghost Reaper Girl is very basic and doesn’t do anything exciting. It is mainly a chance for some fan service. But beyond that, the main character is not interesting. The two characters she interacts with mainly are not interesting. The story is just not that fun to experience with them.

Now, I might have the wrong idea for this one. I like horror manga, and I might have thought it was going to be that. But when the characters aren’t compelling, even a misconception of what I was going to read doesn’t cover that. It is just not enjoyable.

Final Thoughts

A mixed bag of manga for sure. I really like Kaiju No 8 and Shangri-La Frontier. And there are some other solid ones in there. But with as much as I saw on I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level, I had high hopes for that one. I thought it is going to be a light and goofy manga. Maybe one that is more standard of an Isekai. But it is not that interesting, unfortunately.

And I need to read a few more manga as well that we got. Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-Kun is high on that list. I know I will like it, I like the anime. And same with Spy x Family. Plus a few more manga are coming in, or are here that I need to checkout and see if I like them.

What new manga are you reading, or light novels? Let me know.

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Top 5 Most Anticipated Anime of 2023

5. The Devil is a Part-Timer Season 2 Sequel

I really enjoy The Devil is a Part-Timer and while it’s not always the most consistent show, the characters are a lot of fun. I’m curious to see how the story is going to build. The current storyline is just fine in my opinion and I hope that they can wrap it up in a good way. But I’ll still watch it gladly for the fun characters in there.

4. Eden Zero Season 2

This one I consider just to be a fun anime, it’s not the best, but there is just something fun about it. The main character and side characters are likeable. There is a good amount, meaning a lot, of fan service. But the whole show is just absurd and a lot of fun. It’s from the same manga creator who did Fairy Tale and you can tell. But there’s just something fun about what has been created. And I want to see where this story goes because it should be going somewhere weird again.

3. Mashle

This is one that I just picked up the first manga for. But it sounds entertaining to me. Mash is a magic-less guy who lives in a world of magic. That sucks for him, so he makes up for it just with strength. But of course magic is everything in the world, and that just sounds like it’s going to lead to some good action and some good comedy. It reminds of Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town. Mash is most likely going to be way more powerful than he expects.

2. Bofuri Season 2

This is just a fun premise for an anime with fun characters. The main character is new to video games, but she joins an MMORPG. She just doesn’t want to get hurt in it. So she grinds away until she maxes out her defensive stats. And now she’s exceedingly over powered in this world with a build that no one would think of. Plus she’s still herself who is someone who doesn’t always want to try crazy things or new things. A second season sounds like a good time.

1. Solo Leveling

This one I am so excited for. I picked up the five books that are out and it’s a ton of fun. Or is it five books and four out in English. A Korean story originally, it is getting an anime adaptation which I want to see what they do.

The world is basically being connected to another realm or something. Dungeons that open up, and Jinwoo he’s a weak hunter who goes into dungeons for the money to help his family. But when things go sideways, he, instead of getting killed in the dungeon, is given a new lease of life, though one that seems a lot like a video game. The story is fun, and while Jinwoo is a bit of an edge lord at times, it isn’t nearly as bad as something like say Overlord. So I am very excited for this one.

Honorable Mentions

It’s harder for me to do honorable mentions. For stuff like movies or TV shows, it’s one’s that I know a bit about that I just won’t seek out immediately. With anime, a lot of the time it’s whatever comes up or whatever sounds interesting to me. So Jujutsu Kaisen which I’m reading now will be one that I need to checkout season one and then watch season two. There are other ones that I just need to catch up as well. Spy x Family, Beast Tamer, and more make sense to put in the honorable mention even if they don’t have a new season this year.

What anime are you looking forward to in 2023?

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